Humanitarian operations involving many different aid organizations are often undertaken in response to catastrophic disasters, particular those that strike developing parts of the world. For example, following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti that killed 220,000 people, international aid organizations rushed in to help the 300,000 people injured and over a million people displaced by the earthquake. Although many of the participating aid organizations possessed pertinent data and their own management practices, there did not exist any comprehensive understanding of other organizations' activities and data. Information was fragmented and held separately and locally, restricting an overall and up-to-date understanding of the situation. The breakdown of coordination and information sharing between the participating aid organizations resulted in delays in the transport and delivery of much needed aid. To exacerbate the problem, non-standardization of nomenclature made information sharing and logistics coordination even more difficult, particularly as more and more ad hoc tent cities, aid stations, and distribution points were being set up. For instance, English, French, and Caribbean languages like Creole were all commonly used in Haiti, so a single location could conceivably, and often did, have three separate names. In such an environment, collaborative sharing of accurate and relevant information would facilitate aid organizations in identifying locations that have duplicate names and coordinating their efforts to provide aid in a timely basis.
Collaborative sharing of relevant information can also be applied to other endeavors. For instance, with the climate of the world changing and more political envoys being dispersed world-wide, particularly in volatile regions of the world, the demand for security details or protective services is growing. As situations can change rapidly, the ability for these security details to gain situational awareness or assess potential threats to their clients and evaluate possible escape routes is paramount. These specially trained individuals need real-time, heads-up, accurate, and relevant information to maintain the safety of their clients and themselves.